Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway (known as 'Ollie') is a former player and manager at Bristol Rovers, who had three spells playing for the club, the third of which he also managed the team. He was a hard working midfielder who was voted Rovers' cult hero by Gasheads in a BBC poll. Ian is married with four children, three of whom are deaf. He took part in the BBC series Stress Test in which a team of psychologists helped him control his anger. Playing career Ian started his playing career with Rovers before moving on to Wimbledon in 1985. He spent a single season at Plough Lane before moving on to Brentford, where he had a loan spell at Torquay United. After failing to settle in London he returned to Rovers in 1987 where he remained for four years, playing 179 league games. In 1991 his former manager at Rovers, Gerry Francis, took him to Queens Park Rangers where he played in the top flight and became a fan favourite at Loftus Road. In 1996 he was brought back to Rovers for a third spell at the club, this time as player-manager. He combined the two roles for three years before finally hanging up his boots in 1999. Managerial career Ollie's first chance in management was at Rovers, where he was appointed as successor to John Ward in 1996. He lasted for five years at the helm before leaving the club in 2001. Later that year he was appointed as QPR's manager and again lasted for five years before being let go by the club. In the summer of 2006 he joined Plymouth Argyle, and after getting them to the upper echelons of the Championship he left to take over at Leicester City, upsetting many Plymouth fans in the process. Leicester were already in deep relegation trouble and he was unable to save them from the drop, and he lost his job in the summer of 2008. After a year of media work, during which time he appeared on Sky Sports, Setanta Sports, and Radio 5 Live, Holloway was appointed as Blackpool's new manager shortly after the end of the 2008-09 season. Managerial stats Record at Rovers Notes Media work Ian has to date published two books. His autobiography, titled Ollie, was originally published in 2007. Prior to this, in 2005, an unofficial book of quotes titled Let's Have Coffee: The Tao of Ian Holloway was published, but Ian felt that it contained inaccuracies and failed to explain certain quotes adequately. He wrote his own version in 2008 called the Little Book of Ollie'isms in order to correct this. Up until the end of the 2007-08 season, Ian wrote a regular column for the BBC Sport website. He has also appeared as a studio pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Special and Setanta Sports' Football Matters, as well as providing expert analysis in BBC Radio 5 Live football commentary. Category:Players Category:Midfielders Category:Managers Category:12 March Category:Players born in 1963 Category:Players who joined in 1981 Category:Players who joined in 1987 Category:Players who joined in 1996 Category:Wimbledon Category:Brentford Category:Torquay United Category:Queens Park Rangers Category:Plymouth Argyle Category:Leicester City Category:Blackpool Category:100+ league appearances Category:200+ league appearances Category:300+ league appearances Category:50+ league appearances